Wednesday, August 31, 2011

One of my Facebook friends, Sally, was surprised when she saw my picture for the first time the other day. I'm much younger than she thought, born in 1966, the same year Sesame Street was conceived. Three years later, when Sesame Street first aired I was watching. Cookie Monster was my hero. Decades later, I still dissolve into laughter when I see this scene with Kermit and Cookie Monster.

Watching Sesame Street made me think of William Wegman, whose work first started to gain attention in the 70s. I've met Bill, his sister, Pam, and some of the dogs that were maybe the third generation of Wegman Weimaraners. I met Batty, Chundo, Crooky, and Chip. My parents met some of the other dogs, and Mom goes to the same church as Pam in the summer. This short video from 1972 is one of Wegman's earlier works. Cracks me up every time.

Lost in a 70s surf, I drift between Alka Seltzer commercials and Schoolhouse Rock, from Hong Kong Phooey to The Brady Bunch, and beyond. Lately, I've even been looking at the quilts and textiles of that crazy decade. I don't know if I'd want to relive the 70s, but the memories are interesting and amusing. Most of all, the 70s were my formative years.

Born in the 60s, grew up in the 70s, reached adulthood in the 80s. Explains a lot about me, doesn't it, Sally?

Monday, August 29, 2011

Hi everyone! You may be wondering where I've been lately. I'm sorry I haven't blogged as much as usual this month, but I've been in the land of eBay and housecleaning. Mom's coming to visit for three weeks, and it's time to get ready!

So, just a quickie blog today - really more like an announcement - I'm going to be a guest on Pat Sloan's radio show today at 4pm EST. Pat is a Facebook friend, and several weeks ago she wanted to hear about everyone's weekend projects. I posted a link for the "Beauty Secrets" catalog, and we struck up a conversation, which led to an invitation to be a guest on the show.

I'm very honored to be invited as a guest on the show, and really looking forward to it! To listen to the show, tune in at:

Monday, August 22, 2011

I recently received an e-mail from Mary Kay Davis, editor of The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims. Mary Kay had been in Oregon the previous week, and she visited my exhibit at the Benton County Museum. She asked if she could share pictures and spotlight the event on The Quilt Show Daily Blog. "Of course!" I was happy to know the exhibit made an impression.

Over the weekend, The Quilt Show Daily Blog featured the exhibit on their blog, and I want to thank The Quilt Show for including me. I'm especially honored because it's my first exhibit. It's wonderful to be able to share information about the exhibit, pictures of the quilts, and links to my web site and print catalog for anyone who may not be within reach of Philomath, Oregon.

They called it "a little gem of an exhibit that shouldn't be missed."

Photo by Mary Kay Davis, frame from Smilebox slide show

Wow! BIG Thank you to The Quilt Show!! To view the blog, click here. Beauty Secrets: 150 Years of History in One Quilt Pattern is currently on display at the Benton County Museum in Philomath, Oregon through October 1st. The exhibit is part of Quilt County, a biennial, countywide celebration of quilts. An 80-page, full-color printed catalog is available in limited numbers at the museum, and online through Blurb. To preview or purchase the catalog, click here.

Friday, August 19, 2011

It's time to get ready for back-to-school season, and I'm having another eBay sale! Several quilts are among the offerings, which also include sterling silver, Tommy Bahama silk camp shirts, swimming instruction DVDs, and other random collectibles. Here are a few of the items listed.

Signed Steuben crystal bouquet vase, George Thompson design

Henry Clifford Davis Sterling Fishing Trophy, Bermuda, 1936

Patriotic Airplanes quilt, c. 1940

Mecca trading card, U.S. Olympic Gold Medal Swimmer Charles Daniels

Pottery Barn two-sided blue and white pillow cover

Cotton Crazy Block quilt, c. 1900.

Gorham Sterling Silver Revere Bowl

Georgia Bars cotton utility quilt, c. 1910

Busy week, but a lot of fun sorting through things and deciding what to keep and what to let go. If you're interested in seeing what's for sale, click here!

In late October, 2009, I bought a quilt that came at the beginning of a flood of great quilts. It was this 1880s "mellow" beauty from Texas. The quilt was found by Julie Silber and Jean Demeter of The Quilt Complex. When I spotted it on their web site, I bought it on the spot. They called it a "mellow" beauty because it's the pattern most commonly known as New York Beauty, and the faded colors give it a wonderfully pleasant effect.

2011 NW Quilters Show, Portland Expo Center

If someone said the quilt design came from a published pattern, I'd believe them. It has structure, symmetry, and a head-turning combination of colors. The traditional Rocky Mountain Road or Crown of Thorns quilt was most often made with solid green and red on plain white - sometimes with touches of other color like cheddar orange. This Texas quilt also has solid fabrics, but the lush blue and ruddy, faded brown are uncommon. The yellowy cheddar orange adds to the handsome, earthy color scheme.

Even though the colors are the result of time and fading, I feel like it's a happy accident. Condition is certainly an issue for a lot of people who collect, but my approach to collecting New York Beauties has been fairly inclusive. You don't see them often. For a while, I just bought every one I saw, and tried to make sense of it later. Chronologically ordering the collection for "Beauty Secrets" is how I've begun making heads or tails of the whole thing.

This quilt is currently on display at the Benton County Museum in Philomath, Oregon, as part of "Beauty Secrets: 150 Years of History in One Quilt Pattern" through October 1st. The exhibit is part of Quilt County, a biennial, countywide celebration of quilts. An 80-page, full-color printed catalog is available in limited numbers at the museum, and online through Blurb. To preview or purchase the catalog, click here.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

In the last two years I've purchased 26 New York Beauty quilts and tops, more than half of my "Beauty Secrets" collection. Just before that flurry of activity, I bought this 1950s blue and white quilt, made by Gertrude Barr of Nichols Hills, Oklahoma. It's an intriguing quilt, for more than one reason.

The quilt is the product of a published pattern, but I'm still seeking the source. By the time it was made, published patterns had become thoroughly homogenized in terms of aesthetics. Looking at this quilt, it is clearly well-planned and perfectly symmetrical. There are no extra rows of blocks or half-blocks, and there isn't a point out of place.

New York Beauty (detail), c. 1980, North Carolina

It's somewhere in between the Mountain Mist quilt from the 1930s and the published patterns of the 80s. Similar to the teal, red and white quilt from North Carolina made in the 1980s, the one I blogged about on August 9th, the quilt is representative of the calm before the storm - or more appropriately stated, the calm before Karen Stone! After the wave of very mechanical, homogeneous looking quilts, Stone and other artists gave the New York Beauty a major makeover in the 90s. Now, we're in a whole new place.

A Karen Stone inspired Lady Liberty Quilt by Marita Wallace.

Knowing what has transpired in the last 15 or 20 years, it's enlightening to look at the quilts on the bubble. Gertrude Barr's quilt is on the bubble. It represents rigid classicism before a period of aesthetic innovation, commercialism before a grass-roots, creative evolution. It's truly a transitional quilt.

This quilt is currently on display at the Benton County Museum in Philomath, Oregon, as part of "Beauty Secrets: 150 Years of History in One Quilt Pattern" through October 1st. The exhibit is part of Quilt County, a biennial, countywide celebration of quilts. An 80-page, full-color printed catalog is available in limited numbers at the museum, and online through Blurb. To preview or purchase the catalog, click here.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

What is a "Maverick" quilt? Julie Silber, in a recent interview with Pat Sloan said, "Well, I think I made it up...and it was, believe me, way before the last election. So it has nothing to do with any politicians. They're just oddball, eccentric, idiosyncratic quilts. They tend to be based on traditional designs and traditional formats and then they have a very personal twist to them that really makes them memorable."

This 1940's quilt is definitely a maverick, and coincidentally, I bought it from Julie Silber, who had it listed on eBay in February, 2007. It is based on the New York Beauty design, and has elements of the traditional design but is a huge departure from any other New York Beauty I've ever seen. Although the red, white, and green color scheme and spiky arches wedged in the inside corners of the blocks could be considered traditional, that's where all similarities end.

According to the auction listing, the quilt came from an African-American estate in East Texas and was made by "Auntie" - but that's about all we know. Regardless of the race of the maker, the quilt was made by a very free-spirited individual - someone who may have known about tradition but was not bound by it. The blocks don't line up, the number and quality of the points is not consistent, and the sashing is boldly rendered with roughly placed, wide strips of green and white fabric.

It's the kind of quilt that astonishes and perplexes a lot of quiltmakers. It makes you scratch your head and wonder, "Why did she do that? How did she do that?" Even though it's beyond quirky and not particularly well crafted, it's always a viewers' favorite whenever I show it. Even traditionalists who don't particularly care for Gee's Bend quilts love this one. I think it's because the quilt is so human. It's far from perfect, just like most people - but unlike a lot of us, it seems to celebrate and embrace its flaws.

This quilt is currently on display at the Benton County Museum in Philomath, Oregon, as part of "Beauty Secrets: 150 Years of History in One Quilt Pattern" through October 1st. The exhibit is part of Quilt County, a biennial, countywide celebration of quilts. An 80-page, full-color printed catalog is available in limited numbers at the museum, and online through Blurb. To preview or purchase the catalog, click here.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

In 2005, I bought a quilt that would eventually change a lot of things for me - but I didn't realize it at the time. The quilt, a 1980s teal, red and white New York Beauty, was made in North Carolina and came from an eBay seller. When I bought it, I thought it was a lot older than it is, but then, I knew very little about dating fabrics and quilts at the time. I was still very much isolated in my quilt collecting hobby, and the only source of information was whatever I would hear along the way.

These days, it's hilarious to think I felt it was from the 1940s or 50s. Shortly after I received it, I brought it along to the Palmer Wirfs Antiques Show at the Portland Expo Center, where there is always a booth for identification and assessment of collectibles. It's a little like Antiques Roadshow. You wait in line, meet with an expert, and get a verbal assessment.

There was a lovely young lady from California named Erin who knew a lot about quilts and fabric dating, so I always waited to speak with her. When I told her what I thought I knew about the quilt, she quickly set me straight. I was a little embarrassed that it wasn't as old as I thought, but tried to look on the bright side and played it off as being my "youngest" quilt. Then I stashed it away, feeling a little foolish for having a 1980s quilt in a collection of much older quilts. It sat on a shelf for years, and nobody saw it - my mistake, my dirty little secret.

As I continued collecting, I gradually learned more about quilts and suspected this quilt was from a published pattern. I wasn't particularly thrilled about that because it pushed the quilt one step further away from being a one-of-a-kind original, but it was still a New York Beauty. Then one day something else dawned on me. In all my years of collecting, I hadn't seen any other New York Beauty quilts from that time period. That realization led to another: what I first thought of as a novice collector's mistake turned out to be quite rare and important in the context of my collection. From that point forward, I appreciated and embraced this quilt.

Earlier this year, when the photostreams from the Infinite Variety red and white quilt exhibition started to surface, I discovered another quilt made with what looks like exactly the same pattern. In my mind, it supported the idea that my quilt was made with a published pattern, but I still haven't found the source. So, if there's anyone out there who recognizes this pattern and may have leads to the source, I hope you'll let me know!

This quilt is currently on display at the Benton County Museum in Philomath, Oregon, as part of "Beauty Secrets: 150 Years of History in One Quilt Pattern" through October 1st. The exhibit is part of Quilt County, a biennial, countywide celebration of quilts. An 80-page, full-color printed catalog is available in limited numbers at the museum, and online through Blurb. To preview or purchase the catalog, click here.

Monday, August 8, 2011

By 2005, I was buying more quilts and several of those were the "New York Beauty" pattern. The best of these was a quilt I found on eBay, which came from a seller in Virginia. The quilt had been listed around the July 4th holiday, and when the auction ended with no bids, I contacted the seller to see if it was still available. It was, and I made arrangements to buy it.

The quilt was made in Virginia in the second half of the nineteenth century, and one of the things I really liked about it was how the maker put madder red points on the green arches, a direct reference to the difficult piecework. Most of the time, the points match the arches, giving the illusion from a distance that it's one piece of fabric. I realized print fabrics were rarely seen in these quilts, and the amazing zig-zag borders on two sides made it even more unusual.

When I opened the box, the first thing I noticed was pencil marks on the white fabric where the quilting design was marked. Bonus! Note to all quiltmakers: pencil marks may be the bane of your existence, but they are thrilling to a collector of antique quilts. This quilt has been exhibited only twice - once in the 2011 Northwest Quilters Show, and now as part of my first museum exhibit.

This quilt is currently on display at the Benton County Museum in Philomath, Oregon, as part of "Beauty Secrets: 150 Years of History in One Quilt Pattern" through October 1st. The exhibit is part of Quilt County, a biennial, countywide celebration of quilts. An 80-page, full-color printed catalog is available in limited numbers at the museum, and online through Blurb. To preview or purchase the catalog, click here.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

My third New York Beauty, a 1940's red. white, and blue head-turner, came from Mary Ann Walters of Log Cabin Antique Quilts in Texas. I bought it in January, 2004. In the same purchase, I also bought a funky, early twentieth century goblet quilt. At the time, Mary Ann said the New York Beauty came from Ohio, and warned me about the quilting stitches, which were rather odd and uneven. Thinking it would detract from my interest, she wanted to make sure I'd be happy with the quilt. I immediately loved the unskilled hand in the quilting stitches, and considered the quilt a bargain.

When I brought this quilt to show the Columbia-Willamette Quilt Study Group in 2009, everyone was very interested in the quilting. It was a puzzle. What was the story? People started making up their own theories about the person who had done the quilting. The quilt was compelling, and a mystery. From a distance, it's a show-stopper. Classic, bold, and patriotic, the quilt a wonderful display piece with a very human touch.

This quilt is currently on display at the Benton County Museum in Philomath, Oregon, as part of "Beauty Secrets: 150 Years of History in One Quilt Pattern" through October 1st. The exhibit is part of Quilt County, a biennial, countywide celebration of quilts. An 80-page, full-color printed catalog is available in limited numbers at the museum, and online through Blurb. To preview or purchase the catalog, click here.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Twelve years after I bought my first New York Beauty, I found a second one. I'd seen only a few other examples along the way and was still very disconnected from the quilt world, but I was starting to buy through eBay, was finding several quilt dealers online. From time to time I visited Shelly Zegart's web site, where she had quilts for sale. That's where I found this quilt.

It was listed some time around Christmas, but it wasn't listed long because I bought it in January, 2001. The quilt would be a nice companion to the red, white, and green quilt I'd bought in 1989, I thought, but there were significant differences.

The dark, solid navy background was one thing. The thickness and loft was another. Then there was the basic grid quilting, and rustic, loomed backing fabric. Clearly it was more of a utility quilt, even though the piecework was very well done. The tan fabric was another color at one time, but had faded.

Around that time, I started to see other New York Beauties called by different names, particularly Rocky Mountain Road and Crown of Thorns. I wasn't as enthralled with the names as I was with the quilt's design and its rarity as a collectible. To me, there was something very American about these quilts. I didn't see them every day, but made a subconscious decision to buy every one I saw if I could afford it.

This quilt is currently on display at the Benton County Museum in Philomath, Oregon, as part of "Beauty Secrets: 150 Years of History in One Quilt Pattern" through October 1st. The exhibit is part of Quilt County, a biennial, countywide celebration of quilts. An 80-page, full-color printed catalog is available in limited numbers at the museum, and online through Blurb. To preview or purchase the catalog, click here.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

I love to tell the story about how I got my first quilt. I was living in New York, going to grad school at NYU, and dating a young lady from Germany who was a Fullbright exchange student at F.I.T. Ulrike, or "Uli" as she liked to be called, really wanted to make the most of her experience in New York, and she always had ideas about where to go and what to do.

One day, she had a postcard invitation to a private showing of antique American Quilts. I have no idea where she got the invitation, but we went to an upscale, uptown brownstone apartment that afternoon to see quilts. Uli had heard about our nation's tradition of patchwork quilts, and wanted to return to Germany with a bona fide antique American quilt.

Before that day, I had never heard the name Shelly Zegart, but that's who greeted us at the door. Over the years, Shelly has continued to be a guiding light. There were very few people who influenced me during the bulk of the 22 years I've collected, but Shelly's been there since day one.

There were dozens of amazing old quilts draped over the furniture, all over the apartment, and Shelly blew me away that day. She was clearly passionate about quilts, very bright, and brimming over with information and stories about the quilts. Uli found an indigo and white Drunkard's Path quilt, and we giggled about the name since we invariably ended up at the Irish pub on the corner of 23rd and Lexington most evenings.

I was studying photography at the time, and art history was always part of my college curriculum. Shelly made me realize that quilts should be considered part of art history. Quilts were works of art. I fell in love with this New York Beauty quilt, and couldn't really afford it, so I left empty handed. But I think Shelly could tell I was smitten, so she kept in touch and worked with me on a payment plan. A few months later, I owned my first quilt.

At a lecture in Lebanon, Oregon. You can see the batting inside the quilt.

The plan was to display the quilt on the wall, but I was moving around a lot, wasn't exactly sure how to display it, and was afraid of what my mom would say when she saw it. How could I justify such an extravagant purchase? So, I hid the quilt from Mom for a number of years.

She finally saw it one day, when visiting my new apartment in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. She and Dad had come to see where I was living, and I had the quilt draped over a rack in the corner of my bedroom. Mom made a beeline to the quilt, and I realized I had to explain myself. After I fessed up, she said the quilt was the best thing I've ever spent my money on.

This quilt is currently on display at the Benton County Museum in Philomath, Oregon, as part of "Beauty Secrets: 150 Years of History in One Quilt Pattern" through October 1st. The exhibit is part of Quilt County, a biennial, countywide celebration of quilts. An 80-page, full-color printed catalog is available in limited numbers at the museum, and online through Blurb. To preview or purchase the catalog, click here.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

The quilts are up, the labels are in place, the lights are set, and "Beauty Secrets: 150 Years of History in One Quilt Pattern" at the Benton County Museum is open - a day early!! Originally the exhibit was scheduled to open on Friday, but things went so smoothly yesterday, it was actually ready to go this afternoon. So, it will be open tomorrow - Thursday. Photos courtesy of Mark Tolonen.

On Saturday, I was pinning sleeves on quilts most of the afternoon. My cat, Boo, was sleeping on the couch. She's an old kitty, I think about 17 years old, and she doesn't move around as well as she once did. Boo paid no attention until I started working on the Mountain Mist New York Beauty.

The quilt was all spread out on the floor with the loose sleeve positioned, and that's when Boo decided to pay me a visit to express her approval. First I felt her rub up against me, and when I turned to look, there she was rolling all over the quilt, purring.

"Why does she like this one best?" I wondered. She hadn't been the least bit interested in any of the other quilts. Did little Boo know it was a Mountain Mist New York Beauty? Did she realize it was a key point in the chronological progression of quilts in my upcoming exhibit at the Benton County Museum? Did she know how hard it was to find this quilt?

I tried to shoo her away, and even picked her up and moved her off the quilt a couple times, but she wasn't about to go away. As soon as I moved her, she'd be right back on the quilt, rolling around and purring. Then I realized why couldn't I get the cat to stay off the quilt. It's something Pepper Cory said a while ago: "Quilts are cat magnets."

So, if you happen to go see the "Beauty Secrets" exhibit at the Benton County Museum and notice a few black cat hairs on the Mountain Mist New York Beauty, now you'll know where they came from.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Today was hanging day at the Benton County Museum, and the quilts are now up. Just a few details, wall labels, etc., and the exhibit will be ready to open. Perhaps even a day early! Many thanks to the fine folks at the museum, especially curator and webmaster Mark Tolonen who facilitated the whole installation, created labels, and publicized the event on the web.

It was mind-blowing to see so many of these quilts on display in one space, and I'm just delighted. So, I thought I'd share a few pictures taken during installation. Enjoy!

We started the day with bare walls, ladders, and a table piled with quilts.

First order of business was to hang a few quilts from the ceiling.

Then it was time to get quilts up on the walls and furnish the glass cases.

This glass case display will address key points in the pattern evolution.

Most of the older quilts are either on the stage or toward the front.

Newer and less traditional quilts are on the opposite end.

Quilts made from published patterns bridge the gap between old and new.

"Beauty Secrets: 150 Years of History in One Quilt Pattern" will be on display from August 5th to October 1st at the Benton County Museum in Philomath, Oregon. The exhibit is part of Quilt County, a biennial, countywide celebration of quilts. An 80-page, full-color exhibit catalog is available through Blurb. To preview or purchase the catalog, click here.